Atlanta Motor Speedway - Rookie spotlight

Raybestos Rookie of the Year Title Chase Tight Heading into Atlanta
Motor Speedway
HAMPTON, Ga. (Oct. 10, 2007) -- Unadilla, Ga. native David
Ragan finds himself locked in a battle with International superstar and
former Formula 1 ...

Raybestos Rookie of the Year Title Chase Tight Heading into Atlanta
Motor Speedway

HAMPTON, Ga. (Oct. 10, 2007) -- Unadilla, Ga. native David
Ragan finds himself locked in a battle with International superstar and
former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya for the NASCAR Rookie of the
Year title, a race that is currently separated by a mere 15 points.

Both drivers will have to be on top of their game to
maintain their positions at the top of the rookie standings when the
NEXTEL Cup Series rolls into Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Oct. 28 Pep
Boys Auto 500.

Ragan and Montoya may have a different dialect, hailing from
different parts of the globe, but they agree on the level of importance
and prestige that comes with earning the Raybestos Rookie of the Year
title.

"Winning the rookie of the year title in the NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup Series is certainly one of the biggest goals we sought after this
year," Ragan said. "You look at the guys that have won the title in
the past, guys like David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, my
teammate Matt Kenseth, those are all guys I look up to. They've all been
real strong rookies and certainly showed a lot of promise after winning
Rookie of the Year."

Thirty-two year old Montoya agrees with Ragan but said he
also finds claiming the title important because of the recognition it
gives his team.

"I think earning something like Rookie of the Year is really
important," said the Columbia native, Montoya. "If you look at the guys
that have won it in the past, it's an impressive list. It's not just
important to me, but to everyone involved with the race team.

"If I win the title it will be the fourth Rookie of the Year
award for my sponsor Texaco/Havoline and the second for my Crew Chief
Donnie Wingo and the team. That means a lot to those guys. They work
hard, so any recognition we can get as a team is invaluable."

Ragan, who grew up racing around the Thunder Ring, AMS'
frontstretch quarter-mile oval, in a Legends car, like Montoya, only
has one start in a NEXTEL Cup car at NASCAR's fastest track. Each raced
in the March Kobalt Tools 500 with Montoya scoring his first top-five
finish in NEXTEL Cup competition.

"I wait to get back to Atlanta Motor Speedway," Montoya
said. "Atlanta was my first big top-five finish in NEXTEL Cup. All I can
hope is to improve on that finish from the spring, but a top-five would
still be nice to repeat."

Although the 21-year-old Ragan, finished 33rd in his Atlanta
NEXTEL Cup debut, both he and Montoya are optimistic about returning to
AMS and will need a strong finish to catapult themselves towards the top
spot in the Rookie of the Year standings.

"Going back to Atlanta Motor Speedway is going to be a lot
of fun," Ragan said. "I feel that I'm a lot more comfortable now in the
mile-and-a-half cars than I was back in March. We have had some strong
runs on tracks like Atlanta this year and I think our cars are a lot
better; certainly I'm a lot better driver."

AMS, known for creating speeds in excess of 200 mph doesn't
intimidate Montoya or Ragan. Both drivers readily admit the action at
AMS is among the best in NASCAR.

"Atlanta Motor Speedway is an awesome race track," Ragan
said. "It's got a lot of speed and you have to carry a lot of momentum,
making it a lot of fun for all of us drivers. It's got three grooves for
racing and that always produces some great excitement towards the end of
the race."

"I wasn't expecting the track to be that fast," Montoya
said. "Since I didn't have any preconceived notions of where to run,
I was able to run all over the track and search for the best lines. I
think people were really surprised to see me run as high as I was on the
track earlier this year. That makes the racing very exciting."

Fans can see Montoya and Ragan battle for rookie supremacy
during the Oct. 28 Pep Boys Auto 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race. Tickets
are available by calling the Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office at
877-9-AMS-TIX, 770-946-4211 or by visiting www.atlantamotorspeedway.com